Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is both a branch of the UNSC and the primary agency of the UPEO responsible for providing interstellar security intelligence assessment as well as obtaining and gathering intelligence. The ONI also engages and oversees covert operations that are operated either by ONI itself or by other branches of the UNSC or other independent organizations within the UPEO that are sanctioned to carry out said operations. Vice Admiral Prone to Mischief was the director of ONI until 18 NE at which point she retired and was succeeded by her protege: Rear Admiral Light at the Night Skies. Overview As mentioned earlier the Office of Naval Intelligence is essentially responsible for all espionage, counter espionage and all propaganda operations of the UNSC and the UPEO. Prior to 1550 BNE, ONI's jurisdiction was restricted to within the UNSC Navy. However due to its successes it eventually took over the UPEO's civilian's intelligence agency, expanding ONI's jurisdiction to the entirety of the UPEO. It is now responsible for all intelligence matters across the UNSC and as a result it employs members from all branches of the UPEO either to have them as a permanent member of ONI, or as liasons between ONI and their respective branches. Civilians are also often employed to serve as specialists or advisors within ONI's subdivisions, but not before having them sign a non-disclosure agreement. Due to the secretive nature of ONI's operations and methods, those who work for ONI (their agents mainly) are often referred to as "ghosts" by other members of the UNSC. Capabilities ONI is capable of operating within and outside UPEO territories. The office possess a vast network of contacts and allies throughout the nationsverse, especially within the Laptev Axis community. Most operations conducted by ONI are independent of other UNSC branches. ONI possesses an unsually large assortment and quantities of military hardware for an intelligence community and it has both a strong presence and influence within the Navy. This is mostly due to the fact that ONI operates an independent Prowler Corps. ONI would also requisition assets from various branches of the UNSC to complete their objective. Relationship with other intelligence agencies The Department of Security Services The Department of Security Services (DSS) was an independent civilian intelligence agency of the UPEO. Prior to 1550 BNE the DSS was responsible for all matters related to intelligence gathering and analysis for the UPEO. During this time ONI was only responsible for assessing the advancement of other navies in the nationsverse. However there was an incident where agents of the DSS and ONI clashed with one and another. Because of this incident a subsequent investigation took place to find out how the incident occurred in the first place. It was then discovered that the DSS suffered from a corrupt leadership, inefficient coordination and a series of other infringements. As a result, the DSS was dissolved and its roles were given to ONI, making it the sole intelligence agency of the UNSC and the UPEO. Agencies of Laptev Axis members Most if not all members of the Laptev Axis share intel amongst one and another, especially if it concerns the security of the faction or a member of the faction. ONI enjoys close ties with other intelligence agencies of the faction so that information asymetry can be limited. Furthermore liasons are often placed in each member state so that information can be communicated much more efficiently and to allow faction members access to an inteligence agency such as ONI. Foreign intelligence agencies ONI does not maintain ties with other intelligence agencies within the nationsverse. The only exception to this reality is with other allied nations such as Royalist Kingdom. This exception is extremely rare and is only given to allies who have proven themselves from time to time to earn the trust of ONI. Even then the ties are often limited at best and is restricted to the placement of liason officers. History Founding, the early days (1770 BNE) The Office of Naval Intelligence was on 1770 BNE when the 6th Supreme Commander of the UPEO established the 'naval intelligence act' for the sole purpose of assessing and gathering information about the advancement of other navies in the nationsverse. From the intel it had gathered, ONI would then submit a report to both FLEETCOM and NAVCOM in order to advise them of what course of action they should take such as re-armament or the mobilization of warships to certain areas. End of the Department of Security Services (1550 BNE) In 1550 BNE due to an incident that involved a clash between DSS and ONI agents, an investigation took place to determine how the clash began in the first place. It was discovered that the DSS was an inefficient agency, lacked a coherent organization and had a corrupt leadership. Prior to this incident the DSS was an independent civilian intelligence agency of the UPEO that was responsbile for all matters related to intel. After the incident the DSS was dissolved and all of its functions were absorbed by ONI. This is often regarded as ONI's birth. Insurgency and rebellions (1600 BNE - 600 BNE) The "Before New Empire" era was marked with a series of insurgencies and rebellions throughout the UPEO. ONI worked tirelessly to obtain information about these insurgencies to prevent them from becoming a serious threat. For the most part ONI was successful in eliminating the insurgents before they became a major threat but there were times when ONI was unable to accomplish this objective. An insurgency on the colony 'Gondwana' resulted in the release of a bioweapon- a virus, upon the entire population of the colony resulting the deaths of all colonists on the planet. For their part, at the time ONI was swamped by a series of other insurgency threats across UPEO colonies which prompted ONI to prioritize one case over the other. The Gondwana case was one whose priority was lowered due to a lack of intel on the insurgency movement. Recent history (5 NE onwards) In 11 NE the Jade Empire was dissolved, its member scattered to the wind. Certain high ranking officials of the Empire found their way to ONI. Through various contacts and covert ops, ONI agents were able to rendezvous with the Jade Empire's remaining leaders who then delivered blueprints of their new warships that were intended to assist the loyalists in retaking their Empire. ONI then gave the blueprints to Neucom Incorporated, a megacorportation within the UPEO responsible for ship-building. Under a non-disclosure agreement Neucom manufactured these advanced warships and returned them to the loyalists, allowing them to retake their Empire. On 13 NE, ONI once again had to assist Dong Wu, a member of the Laptev Axis, by evacuating one of their last surviving leaders from a space station in orbit above Oberon. The nation had been devastated by a cataclysmic event when trans-dimensional beings came into this dimension and slaughtered 99.9% of Dong Wu's population. ONI had been caught completely off guard due to the fact that the disaster took place within such a short period of time and that there was no indication that something of that nature could have happened. Organization Divisions ONI is divided into five distinct Divisions. Each Dector has its own duties and functions. Division I Division 1 is responsble for releasing new information for both the UNSC and to civilians (after it has been declassified). Information includes but is not limited to: national data for an 'ONI World Fact Book', emergency notices and the most recent events across the nationsvere. Division II See main article: Universal Broadcasting Corporation This is the division that is responsible for the propaganda efforts of the UNSC and the UPEO. It handles and monitors communication within the UPEO and utilizes the Universal Broadcasting Corporation extensively for propaganda purposes. During times of war this division would utilize images, videos and audio recordings taken from all aspects of the war such as opinion polls about the war, recordings of the battles that took place and even speeches made by the belligerents. Division 2 would then process and (if necessary) censor information that may damage morale of either the UPEO or the Laptev Axis. It would also high light victories or significant events to increase morale. Most recently a PMC known as VeraState committed a massacre against civilians of the nation of Indaugua. Using recordings from an orbiting baseball-sized STAR satellite Division 2 censored inappropriate parts of the recording, declassified it and released it to the media, condemning VeraState for massacering civilians. The revelation sparked international condemnation and resulted in VeraState being labeled as a terrorist organization and the subsequent defeat of VeraState during the Laptev Axis police action against Rappelberg. Division III All covert operations and top-secret projects of ONI are within this division. Declassified covert operations and secret projects that were completed by Division 3 includes the development of the 'Light of Peace' satellites that are now utilized as orbital platforms to glass entire planets, the Burst Missile program, the Proclaimer Class Assault Carrier, a covert operation that involved the assasination of prominent HIGHCOM member and the development of the Neutron Jammer. There are still more projects that have yet to be declassified to the public and therefore one can only imagine what kind of other covert and secret projects Division III is up to these days. Division IV This Division carries out the original mandate of ONI that was set forth in 1770 BNE. Division 4 is responsible for assessing and providing suggestions as a response to the advancement of other navies across the nationsverse. Division V This particular Division is responsible for all studies related to unidentified threats namely extra-terrestrials. The studies encompasses the fields of xenobiology, xenoarcheology and xenoengineering. Civilians are often hired as supervisors or even team leaders in this particular division. Other subdivisions Prowler Corps ONI maintains its own fleet of Prowlers to gather and obtain intelligence electronically from space. The way ONI utilizes Prowlers are distinct from the way the Navy uses them. While the Navy uses Prowlers for reconnaicense or defensive purposes (deploying HORNET mines), ONI utilizes Prowlers for mainly gathering and obtaining intelligence. The commanders of ONI Prowlers are required to not interfere with the course of any battles that take place lest they jeapordize their location and objective. Signal Corps The Signal Corps is responsible for providing an early warning for the UNSC when it detects that a hostile fleet approaches UPEO controlled space during times of war. They would also transmit radio waves and various random transmissions to disrupt and confuse the enemy.